


The Mistaken Identity of Blitzstone

by I_Need_An_Alex_Fierro



Category: Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard - Rick Riordan
Genre: Angst, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-30
Updated: 2018-04-08
Packaged: 2019-04-16 00:32:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14152755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/I_Need_An_Alex_Fierro/pseuds/I_Need_An_Alex_Fierro
Summary: Blitz and Hearth spend most of their time together anyway, day-to-day running of The Chase Space, they go shopping at the weekends, Coffee, Movies, who wouldn't get a crush when you spend so much time around someone? Well apparently everyone else already thought they were dating. Including Hearthstone. Blitzen finds this out the hard way, with an audience of house guests. But can he fix the relationship he didn't know was real? Or has he just lost his best friend and his crush at the same time?





	1. A New Jacket Full Of Compliments

_"Try it on!"_ Hearth signed, receiving a pointed glare from Blitzen in response. They had been stood in the middle of a Zara store, Blitz had taken a thick beige suede jacket with a sheepskin collar from Hearth's outstretched hand. When they'd walked into the store, Blitz had challenged Hearth. _"Pick anything you think I'd like in here, and I'll try it on"._

He was beginning to regret the challenge. Hearthstone had promptly returned with this jacket, of which the price was **_obscene_** , far, far out of budget, and didn't make much sense, as it was the middle of February, they were coming _out_ of winter, why would he need a big jacket like this in spring?

_"Fine"_ Blitz sighed. He had laid out the challenge, he may as well follow it through, it didn't mean they had to buy the jacket. He pulled off his coat and handed it to Hearth, who stood patiently and excitedly, waiting for Blitz to pull on the jacket.

_"You're gonna look amazing in it"_ he signed with his free hand.

_"Oh shush you"_ Blitz blushed, looking down so Hearth wouldn't see. The Elf didn't know what compliments like that did to the butterflies in his stomach. _"It's nice, but there's no way we're buying it, it's too much money"._

_"You're always complaining about money"_ Hearth signed, grimacing, _"We have an unlimited amount of it thanks to Odin, and this jacket is good quality, it'll last you a good few years of looking amazing"_.

Blitz blanched at that last remark, and instead of scrambling for a response, pulled the jacket around his shoulders and turned to the mirror.

Hearth was right.

The jacket did look _great._

The sheepskin nestled around his shoulders, soft against the nape of his neck, the sleeves hugged his arms, but not uncomfortably. The suede wrapped around his torso, complementing his muscular figure, he felt like the modern, more civilised version of an 80's biker. And he loved it.

He glanced up at Hearth in the mirror, to find the Elf with his mouth slightly open, staring in awe at Blitz's reflection. When hearth realised he was staring, he shook himself and brought his free hand up to sign. Was that a tinge on red on his cheeks?

_"See! I told you you'd look amazing in it! We have to get it"._

Blitz turned his attention back to his reflection, trying to forget about any colour in Hearthstone's cheeks. He _did_ like the jacket, a lot. His eyes flicked back to Hearth's reflection to find the Elf considering his torso from behind. Blitz follow Hearth's eyes to find how well the jacket gripped the sides of his abdomen. Suddenly, he was lost in a daydream of Hearth stepping forward, lacing his arms under Blitz's, his heading coming to rest on Blitz's shoulder...

Blitz was snapped back to reality by Hearth's signing hand in the mirror.

_"What?"_ he blurted, so dazed he even forgot to signed the word. Luckily Hearth read his lips and smirked.

_"When you're done oogling yourself in the mirror, you're going to need to take it off so we can pay for it"._

Blitz's cheeks flushed a dangerous shade of crimson. If Hearth knew what he had really been thinking when staring into that mirror....

_"Anyway"_ Blitz thought to himself. He pulled the jacket off his shoulders and held it out in front of him, doing some final deliberations.

Before he had a chance to make his own decision, Hearth stamped his foot impatiently, snatched the jacket from Blitz's grasp, and made a bee line for the tills.

Despite Blitz's subsequent spluttering and protesting, Hearth bought the jacket and dragged Blitzen out of the store. Once outside, he made Blitz put his arms up and pulled the jacket onto his body again.

_"There"_ Hearth pronounced when finished, brushing some bits of sheepskin fluff off of Blitz's stomach, sending his heart rate into overdrive. _"The most stylish Dwarf in all of Midgard"_

_"Ha. ha."_ Blitz signed in reply, _"I'm probably the only Dwarf in Midgard these days, so that doesn't count"_.

_"Dammit shut up and take the compliment_ " Hearth responded, pouting.

_"Okay okay, thank you though, I really like it"_ Blitz smiled sheepishly, Hearth's expression softened. Blitz glanced around, trying to decide if there was anything left they had to do in town that day. He drew up a blank, so turned back to Hearthstone and signed _"Coffee?"_

Hearth's face light up and he nodded vigorously in response, grabbing Blitzen by the arm and heading for the Thinking Cup. Blitz tried to ignore the rush he felt at the sudden contact with his best friend, and quickly followed after him. Hopefully some caffeine would calm his fluttering stomach.


	2. The Dinner That Froze Their Hearts

_"Dinner's ready!"_ Blitz yelled, to the house at large, dragging his thought's back from earlier that day. _"Anyone who's hungry can come get some"_.

He glanced over at the back of the door, where the jacket in question had been hung up upon Blitz and Hearth's return from the Thinking Cup. _"That silly Elf."_ he smiled to himself. _"He's probably the best thing that's ever happened to me, not that he knows it"._

After a few minutes, every shy, bleary-eyed, tear-stained or otherwise face in the house had appeared around the kitchen table, save Hearthstone, who Blitz knew was in the next room clearing away the remains of yesterday's piñata, and wouldn't have heard his call anyway. He made a mental note to mention this next time Samirah claimed hers was the favourite cooking of the house. As Blitz looked from face to face around the room, little 8 year old Tommy, who'd been with them about 3 weeks now, and slowly seemed to be opening up, Lance, a burly brunette teen, who, after some tentative beginnings, had really come out of his shell and proved to be a budding social butterfly, Alya, the spectacled aspiring journalist who seems to know _way_ too much about conspiracy theories. The kind of kids you met at _The Chase Space_ were certainly not of the ordinary, you never knew who, or what, was going to walk in that door each morning. _"We're doing an amazing thing here"_ Blitz thought, smiling to himself as he counted out plates. They were even being graced by the presence of their founder, Magnus, and his Boyfriend/Girlfriend [who wouldn't dare be called either], Alex, who was currently using Magnus as a makeshift pillow while she played games on her phone. _"Wait"_ Blitz thought to himself, _"She or He today?"_ , he made a mental note to ask Magnus that later. Magnus always seemed to have a pinpoint gauge on Alex's gender at any given time, gods know how the boy did it. Blitz's attention was brought back to reality as he carried two plates over and laid them on the table.

Aang, a bald kid who had shown up 5 days ago, about 12 years old, with strange blue arrow tattoo's all over his body, was calling his name.

_"Hey Blitz, I need your advice on something"_ Aang said sheepishly, glancing round the table and blushing deeply the moment he realised everyone was now watching him.

_"Sure kid, what's up?"_ Blitz smiled gently at him, not wanting him to feel any more embarrassed than he apparently already did.

_"There's this girl...."_ Aang started, to a chorus of 'Oooh's' from around the table and a few other kids snickering. Blitz immediately shot them warning looks to shut them up and turned back to Aang.

_"Okay, what's this girl's name, if you don't mind me asking?"_

_"Her name's Katara. She's in my class at school, and she's like, reeeeaaaally pretty. I wanna ask her out, but I don't know how to go about it. What should I do?"_

Aang managed to get those words out in about 3 seconds flat, and promptly clamped his mouth shut as soon as he was done, glancing around the table again. Blitz was taken aback by the question. No one had ever come to him for relationship advice before, why would anyone? He'd never been in a relationship. Blitz glanced quickly at Magnus, only to receive a shrug of the shoulders. Alex still hadn't looked up from her phone. Blitz took a deep breath.

_"Well kid, I'm not the best person to ask for relationship advice, Samirah might be better placed to answer this, but I'd say probably just go for it. If you like her and you think she likes you, ask her out and see what happens."_ Blitz smiled at Aang, hoping that would help the boy out a little. Aang thought for a second about what Blitz had said.

_"Well how did you and Hearth start dating?"_

Blitz froze, staring at Aang, his mouth slightly open. Silence filled the room for a count of 10.

_"What did you just say?"_ Blitz whispered, brain still short circuiting.

_"How did you and Hearthstone start dating?"_ Aang repeated, his brow furrowed in confusion.

_"We-We're not, we're not dating..."_ Blitz finally managed, in an uneven tone.

At that, Alex looked up from her phone. _"What?"_ She asked, disbelief etched into the word.

Magnus immediately piped up beside her _"What do you mean you're not dating? What happened?"_ , a look of major concern spread across his face.

Blitz was taken aback by the sudden confrontation. Sure, he'd thought about asking Hearth to a movie or something, they went out shopping most weekends, got coffee or lunch, they spend most days together at _The Chase Space_ , but they certainly weren't dating, at least not last time Blitz checked.

_"What do you mean what happened?"_ Blitz managed, _"Nothing happened, we're not dating, we never were"_.  As Blitz finished his sentence, he was suddenly sure that they were all pulling a massive practical joke on him, but no one cracked up laughing. Alex now had an identical look of concerned confusion on her face to Magnus.

_"You were never dating?"_ Magnus repeated, sounding thoroughly unsure.

_"Nope"_ Blitz popped the 'p'. _"Where in Hel did you get that idea from?"_.

There was murmuring all around the table, guests exchanging looks of confusion and exasperation.

_"Wait"_ Blitz said, looking from face to face around the room for the second time that evening.

_"You **all** thought we were dating...?"_

Once more the guests exchanged looks and muttered words to each other, then all turned back to blitz, uncertainly saying in unison _"Yeah....?"_.

Blitz stood at the head of the table, stunned. If Loki had showed up on the other side of the kitchen in that moment, Blitz would not have batted an eye lid.

As it happened, instead of Loki, Hearth chose that moment to enter the kitchen from the living room he had been clearing up. He seemed oblivious to the stunned freeze-frame at the table, and proceeded to carry the rubbish he had collected over to the bin. When he looked up, he jumped back about half a foot, upon discovering the entire house's inhabitants staring at him. After he had regained his composure, he made eye contact with Blitz and signed _"What...? What did I do?"_

_"Nothing"_ Magnus jumped in, standing up to get Hearth's attention and speaking as he signed.

_"Err"_ Blitz's hand sat motionless in front of him, as he had _not a single clue_ how to portray to Hearth the conversation that had just happened. Blitz stared into hearth's eyes as they questioned him silently. Those beautiful, starlight grey eyes he had spent so many days and nights around, they gave him a feeling of home. Right now, though, they bore a look of confusion that pained Blitz to the core. Could he tell Hearth what had just happened? Would it ruin everything? Blitz had tried to think up a way to talk about his feelings with Hearth, but nothing felt right. Blitz didn't want to lose the amazing bond they already had over a label, but he also wanted so much more from the relationship that he and Hearth had built so far. His inside tugged in all different directions as emotional turmoil burned in his gut. He thought back to the advise he'd just given little Aang, about just _going for it_ , and took a deep breath.

_"Err, they_ ", he gestured around the table, _"They all think we're dating..."_ Blitz signed cautiously, watching Hearth's eyes as realisation dawned on him.

But Blitz did not expect what followed.

Initial confusion was soon replaced by concern, then fear, and finally sadness. It shocked Blitz how well he knew each of those emotions as they steamrolled over his best friend in a matter of seconds. Hearth hesitated, then slowly brought his hands up in reply. _"You mean we're not...?"._ There was a resignation to Hearth's eyes that froze Blitzen's hearth cold. He stared back at his friend, utterly speechless, dumbfounded by the question Hearth had left hanging in the air. What did he mean? Had he thought they were? A million and one questions fired off in Blitz's brain, but his body was frozen in place under Hearth's gaze.

After what felt like an eternity, Hearth half heartedly signed something that might have been _"I'm gonna go upstairs, I don't want dinner thank you"_ , and headed for the door.

_"Wait!"_ Blitz spluttered, not signing, but stepping forward and reaching after Hearth, but Hearth was already gone.

 

The rest of the dinner passed in stony silence. Blitz eventually sat back down, but didn't end up eating much, he suddenly found he wasn't hungry, so instead sat pushing food around his plate, contemplating what had just happened.

Hearthstone had thought they were dating.

_" **Whaaaaaattttttt** "_ screamed a million voices in his head. He did his best to drown them out, as he pictured the resigned defeat in Hearth's eyes.

What had he done?

Could he fix it?


	3. A Cup of Coffee to Warm the Soul

Blitz finished wiping down the kitchen table from the remains of dinner, washed the cloth, rang it out, hung it up to dry, and slumped back into his seat.

“ _You mean, we’re not…?”_

Blitz could still see the sadness in Hearth’s eyes had as he signed the unanswered question.

Had he really been so oblivious so as not to notice that Hearthstone had thought _they_ were _dating_?

For the millionth time that night, Blitz kicked himself. Everything he’d wanted had been right there in his hand, and he hadn’t even realised it. If he couldn’t even notice when his best friend thought they were dating, what sort of a boyfriend would he be if they did end up dating? Hearthstone didn’t deserve someone like him, he was a soft, golden ray of sunshine in all the realms and deserved someone who was able to treat him as such. Blitzen wasn’t that person.

Just as he hit an all new personal low for the evening, there was a soft rap on the door.

Magnus’ head appeared tentatively, framed by a few stray locks of green hair, telling him Alex was right behind.

 _“Hey Blitz, mind if we come in?”_ he asked.

 _“As long as it’s not the whole damn house again”_ Blitzen waved them in wearily, gesturing to the chairs opposite him. Magnus occupied one chair, while Alex first raided the fridge, emerging with a Twix, before taking her seat next to Magnus.

 _“How you doing?”_ Magnus broached.

Blitz grimaced _“I think a better question is what’ve I done?”_.

Alex snorted, earning a shot of evils from Blitz. _“Screwed up is what you’ve done”_ she responded, not looking up from her apparently fascinating Twix bar.

 _“Thanks”_ Blitz muttered dryly.

 _“Listen”_ Magnus chimed in, elbowing Alex in the ribs for her comment. _“None of us said anything before because we all sort of, assumed”_ he smiled gently. _“I know you probably feel a bit torn up right now”_ , at this blitz rolled his eyes. _“but I couldn’t agree more with the advice you gave Aang.”_

 _“What matchmaker Maggie is trying to say”_ Alex took over, sitting up and finally making eye contact with Blitz. There was a kind concern behind her eyes that he hadn’t been expected. _“Is that the important question is: Where do you want to go from here? Do you **want** to be dating Hearth?”_

Blitz’s mouth opened and closed a few times like a goldfish, until he forced himself to swallow and slowly nodded. He didn’t think words would serve him right then.

_“Then you need to tell him that. Properly. No stepping around it, you’ve got to be honest.”_

Magnus nodded enthusiastically. _“See, Alex does know what she’s doing when it comes to relationships”_ he smirked.

_“Shut up Mango or you’re sleeping on the spfa tonight”_

Magnus pouted and crossed his arms.

Blitz nodded slowly, a strange sense of calm washing over him. _“Yeah, okay, I guess there’s no time like the present.”_ And after some silence round the table, “ _The others are all listening outside the door aren’t they?”_

Magnus blushed while Alex nodded, suppressing a grin.

 _“Right”_ Blitzen said in a raised voice, _“You can all go off and entertain yourselves while I work out how to fix, whatever this is”._

There was a chorus of groans from the other side of the door, much to Blitz’s satisfaction.

 _“Thanks guys”_ Blitz said meekly, turning back to Magnus and Alex, who had begun a poking war.

 _“Any time Blitz, I hope it goes well”_ Magnus replied, with a final poke at Alex’s ribs and jumping up from his chair and dashing for the door.

 _“Good luck!”_ Alex added as she chased after her boyfriend, and Blitz smiled as he listened to them head up the stairs, now arguing about what movie to watch that night, and for the first time, felt a calm sense of determination emanating from within. If he was gonna do this, he was gonna do it right.

 

**************************************************************************************************************************************************

 

Setting one mug gently down on the floor in front of the door emblazoned ‘Hearthstone – Odin’s chosen Elf’, Blitz took a deep breath, hit the button next to the door, and sank down to sit cross legged opposite. He felt a small flush of pride as he imagined the light flashing faintly inside the room. This ‘doorbell’ had been his idea after all. As Hearth of course couldn’t hear someone knocking, announcing their presence, or walking in for that matter, he’d installed a small cluster of LED bulbs on the inside of the door frame, to stop anyone accidently walking in on an indecent Elf. Hearth could see the lights flashing, so as to know when someone was outside his door. A moment later, the door swung inwards to reveal Hearthstone, who momentarily seemed very confused, looking from the Dwarf sat opposite his door, to the cup of steaming coffee at his feet, before smiling fondly.

 _“Hey buddy”_ Blitz smiled back, _“coffee?”._ He couldn’t sign, as his own hands held a steaming cup, but he knew Hearth could read his lips. Hearth nodded curtly and sat cross legged opposite him, picking up his own cup.

 _“So”_ Blitz started when Hearth finally looked back at him. Hearth raised an eyebrow, but waited for Blitz to continue.

 _“I’m sorry Hear-“_ Hearth raised a hand for him to stop, shaking his head as he did so.

 _“Please do not apologise”_ he signed.

Blitz took another sip of his coffee and cleared his throat.

 _“Okay, I’ll try not to.”_ He smiled gently and stared down in to his cup. _“I never realised….I always just thought you were being nice…”_ he mumbled, glancing up to see Hearth waiting to sign.

 _“Not your fault”_ came the response, _“I shouldn’t have assumed, I should have asked. I was being nice, because I like seeing you happy”._

At the last comment, the pair of them blushed and looked down into their cups, taking a few moments to sip and think.

 _“Hearth”_ Blitz murmured, tapping the floor on the edge of his vision to get his attention. _“I am happy, when I’m around you.”_

Hearth’s mouth opened slightly, and this time the crimson on his cheeks did not cause him to look away.

 _“Maybe I’ve been blind and inconsiderate up until now”_ Blitz continued, earning a scolding look from Hearth, pressing _“but now that I’ve said all that, I”_ Blitz chuckled and swallowed down the nerves bubbling in his chest, _“I’d actually kind of like to give this a go, properly, if that’s okay with you?”_. Blitz raised his eyes to Hearth’s face, only to be met with tears welling up under the Starlight Grey spheres.

 _“Woah okay if you don’t want to then that fine too-“_ Blitz scrambled to save the situation, but Hearth was furiously shaking his head, then nodding, confusing Blitz all the more.

 _“I’d love to”_ Hearth’s hand was shaking as he signed his response.

Blitz’s heart nearly exploded on the spot. All the caffeine and oxygen in his system went straight to his head as he tried to process what had just happened, but he could only splutter. After about 10 seconds of choking on words that weren’t coming, Hearth grinned and jabbed him in the chest.

_“Breathe, you silly Dwarf”_

Blitz coughed, took a sip of his coffee, and tried to rearrange his thoughts, nodding as he began to feel his body again.

 _“Okay, excellent, dinner next week?”_ he suggested tentatively.

Hearth broke out in a grin, sending another shot of adrenaline up Blitz’s spine. He loved that smile, he wanted to see it every morning when he woke up and every night before he went to sleep.

 _“Sounds perfect”_ Hearth replied, draining the last of his cup of coffee. Blitz stood and took the empty mug from him.

 _“Right, err, I’ll see you in the morning I guess?”_ he ventured nervously. Hearth stood to face him, and nodded in relief.

 _“Goodnight, Hearth”_ Blitz mumbled, glancing down at his feet, unsure.

Hearth reached forward and brushed some seemingly non-existent fluff off the front of Blitz’s shirt.

 _“Goodnight Blitzen”_ he signed, and with a smirk at the stunned look on Blitz’s face, turned back into his room, and closed his door behind him.

Blitz stood stunned in the hallway, staring at the name that now met his eyes instead of the Elf himself, his chest erupting in furious inferno where Hearth had brushed nothingness off just moments before. He knew the contact wasn’t needed. But he also knew he was eternally glad it had happened. After finding his feet once more, he turned, heading for the kitchen to wash up the coffee cups, grinning from ear to ear.


	4. Date Night

Blitz looked himself up and down in the mirror, sighed, and turned back towards his closet.

_"Oh my godsssssss Blitz, you look fine!"_ came the agonised Irish tone from Blitzen's bed. Sprawled across it, now with her head in her hands, was Mallory Keen. She'd come by to help with the afternoon activities at The Chase Space, but Blitz had roped her in to help him choose an outfit for his date with Hearthstone later that night. Beside her lay Samirah, face buried in a book titled 'Particle Physics: Advanced Theory'.

_"Yeah Blitz you look great"_ She muttered, not looking up from her textbook.

_"Yeah but 'Fine' and 'Great' aren't good enough"_ he countered, heading back into his closet, _"I need to looking fantastic!"._

He flicked through his entire line of suits, jackets, and shirts, before stopping, a perfect outfit forming in his head.

_"I've got it!_ " he exclaimed, running out of his closet, past Samirah and Mallory, and straight out of his bedroom door, leaving Mallory looking very confused, Sam still not looking up.

When he returned moments later, he held in his hand a beige suede jacket with a sheepskin collar. At the sight of it, Mallory's eyes light up and she squealed in agreement.

_"Yes Blitz that's perfect!"._

Without a word, Blitz headed straight back into his closet, pulled down a pair of Levi's blue denim jeans from a shelf, and began to change. He paused momentarily to decide on which colour shirt to wear, deciding on a crisp black Moss shirt Hearth had complemented when he bought it. Blitz blushed at the memory and continued to change. Finally turning to the shoe rack, he pulled out a pair of shiny black leather boots, smiling to himself at the 80's biker look he still associated with the jacket. When he finally emerged from his closet, he was met with a gasp from Mallory, who promptly elbowed Samirah to get her attention. When she looked, she did a triple take and burst into a smile.

_"Yeah Blitz, you're killing it, talking about rocking Hearth's world."_

Her words made Blitz's heart stutter just thinking of his friend.

_"Damn right he is! Freya would be proud_ " Mallory smiled, got up from the bed, and stretched. _"My work here is done. Now if you don't mind, Halfborn and I have a movie to catch_ ".

_"Oooo"_ came Samirah's response, only to receive a less than polite hand gesture over the shoulder from Mallory as she swung the door shut behind her.

Blitz looked himself up and down once in the floor to ceiling mirror against his back wall, and felt a sudden swell of nerves in his chest.

_"Sam what if I can't do this? What if I screw it all up again?"_

Sam snorted.

_"Don't be silly Blitz. I don't think there's any way in all of the 9 worlds you could screw this up. Remember, everybody **already thought** you were dating, so just, act normal. You two were practically made for each other, somewhere, the fates are laughing at your nerves. You got this."_

She stood, squeezed Blitz's shoulder and turned to the door.

_"Good luck. Let us know how it goes"._

And with that, Blitz was alone with the mirror.

_"The fates won't be the only ones laughing at me by the end of the night"_ he muttered, grabbing his keys off the dresser and following Sam out the door.

 

**************************************************

 

Sitting down at the kitchen table, Blitz adjusted his jacket for the 200th time in the last 5 minutes and glanced up at the clock. He'd mentioned to Hearth a few days ago to meet him in the kitchen, tonight at 7, and to dress up fancy. Hearth had raised an eyebrow in response, but hadn't questioned the arrangement.

It was 6:50, Blitz knew he shouldn't be worried, he was early, earlier than usual, even by his standards, Hearth would appear, but these thoughts did nothing to appease the raging tornado in his stomach.

The seconds ticked by.

Blitz began to work up a sweat. This was a bad idea, why had he even said anything in the first place? He should've just left things the way they were. Why couldn't he have just picked up that Hearth had thought they were dating and carried on from there? Why hadn't he-

There was a soft rapping on the door, akin to a fanfare.

**_Tap Tap TaTap Tap, Tap Tap_ **

Blitz stood just in time for Magnus to open the door, spreading his arms wide, in his best announcers voice:

_"May I present to you, Hearthstone Alderman, High Elf of the 9 realms, Pinball Extraordinaire, and Midgard's best-"_

He was interrupted by Hearth clamping a hand down on his shoulder with a vice grip that made him wince.

_"Please stop that"_ he signed with his free hand, _"Or I swear to all the gods that I will bind you to within 10 feet of Alex again, and every time you stray, you will lose a limb."_

_"That fine, Alex and I are never not within 10 feet of each other anymore, are we honey?"_

Magnus glanced behind Hearth, grinning, where just out of Blitzen's vision, Alex's razor sharp voice replied:

" _Call me 'Honey' one more time, Chase, and I'll take your head and make a trophy out of it."_

_"Haha, yeah, she's joking about that.....I hope"_ Magnus muttered, turning back to Blitz and Hearth.

_"Anyway, you guys have fun tonight, don't do anything we wouldn't do"_ , and with a wink, he ducked back out the door, leaving Blitz and Hearth in an uncomfortable silence. Blitz took a moment to appreciate the outfit Hearth had chosen, or what he could see of it. Polished black oxford shoes, under grey suit trousers which protruded from his long black trench coat, wrapped snugly around his torso, the only splash of colour being the red and white _a cuadros_ scarf that had come into existence some time during their voyage back from Naglfar.

_"You look nice_ " Blitz said in a quiet voice.

Hearth raised an eyebrow and smirked.

_"Thank you, so do you, but promise me 1 thing now?_ " he signed.

_"Sure, what is it?_ " Blitz's nerves were temporarily broken by curiosity.

_"I don't want this night to be full of awkward silences and odd moments. We've done this a thousand times before, and they were all perfect. So, can we just forget that this is actually a date and just go out for the evening?_ "

Blitz's heart rate soared momentarily, before he processed what Hearth was saying and smiled.

_"Sure buddy, let's get going, or we're gonna be late"._

Blitz held the front door open, the followed Hearth out onto the street.

The night air was warm on his face, but the wind was bitter, biting at his ankles and any exposed patch of skin it could find. They were coming to the end of February, and while spring was starting to make its appearance with the daffodils in the flower beds at the front of The Chase Space mansion, a few trademarks of winter still lingered. The smell of wood smoke from the chimney met his nostrils as he breathed the evening in, trying to settle the butterflies in his stomach. He pulled his jacket tighter around himself and set off, Hearthstone at his side. He was grateful for this part of the journey. It was difficult for Hearth to see his face while they were walking, so they usually walked in silence, enjoying each other's company, and tonight was no different. As they rounded the corner on to the main high street, Blitz was caught by surprise as Hearth took his hand. He immediately looked from their intertwined fingers up into Hearth's eyes, which were shining wonderfully against the night sky.

_"I got bored waiting for you to do it"_ Hearth signed, a stroke of red dusting his high cheek bones. Instead of responding, Blitz simply squeezed his hand and pulled him along, settling into the night's theme and feeling excitement overpower nerves in his veins.

They came to a halt outside a theatre down one of the side alleys. Hearth turned to him with an understandably confused look on his face.

_"No need to worry buddy_ " Blitz chuckled, _"tonight, they've got a gala dinner and ballroom dance on, I thought it'd be nice._ "

The blush across Hearth's cheeks was now more akin to Halfborn's warrior paint during the battle on Naglfar. Without waiting for a response, Blitz pushed the door open and pulled Hearth inside.

Blitz was sad about having to drop Hearth's hand in the cloak room, but did so anyway, removing his jacket and hanging it up on one of the pegs. He turned back to face Hearth just as he was hanging his trench coat up, to be met by the fully glory of Hearthstone's chosen outfit. The grey suit trousers were complemented by a matching grey waistcoat, wrapped tastefully, some(Blitz) would say _teasingly_ , over a tailored white shirt Blitz had made for Hearth for the Christmas just gone.

_"Oh my..."_ Blitz breathed, before Hearth snapped his fingers to get his attention.

_"Eyes up here_ " he signed, blushing and raising an eyebrow.

_"Right, yes, of course, sorry"_ Blitz muttered.

Hearth held out his hand, and Blitzen took it, leading them both out onto the stage, which, for tonight, was void of any scenery or props, leaving a wide open space, well lit by flood lights, with tables hosting platters of a variety of foods lining the edges. There were 30 or so people in the room, some milling at the edges, laughing, eating, socialising, others intertwined, swaying gently to the music. The atmosphere was relaxed, warm.  Hearth squeezed Blitz's hand to get his attention, smiling and signing:

_"This is really nice, thank you for bringing me here"_

Blitz couldn't think of a response that quite expressed how he felt towards Hearth in that moment, so instead, he raised their clasped hands and said:

_"Dance?"_

Hearth nodded eagerly and followed Blitz out to the dance floor.

What Blitz hadn't considered about tonight, was the actual _dancing_. As he turned to face Hearth, he froze, all the colour draining from his face.

_"I-I er"_ He muttered, convinced he would melt to the floor from embarrassment, _"Hearth, I don't know how to dance..."_

Hearth broke out into an ear to ear grin and signed back

_"Fantastic! Neither do I, this should be plenty of fun then"_.

Blitz felt relief wash over him. ' _How did they do it in the movies?'_ He thought to himself. He stepped forward, placing his hands on Hearth's hips, as Hearth's arms came up to rest of his shoulders. Blitz listened for a moment, then began to step slowly to the beat of the song. He'd briefly asked Alex about the different kinds of music at a dance, not that He'd been much help at the time. He thought this might be what most people called a _Waltz_. It had a strange rhythm, playing a leading note, followed by two off beat chords. Blitz slowly found his rhythm, Hearth following his lead. When he next looked up into his favourite starlight grey orbs, they were looking back down and him fondly, causing him to lose his footing and trip over Hearth's left foot, tumbling forward into Hearth's chest. After a brief scramble, Blitz was back on his feet, face redder than a ripe Tomato.

_"Sorry"_ Blitz muttered, looking down at his feet, anything to avoid Hearth's gaze.

He faltered again when Hearth's hand appeared beneath his chin, lifting his head back up for eye contact.

_"What've I told you about apologising?_ " he signed, a soft smile playing at his lips. _"Plus, I quite liked you there"_

Blitz figured if he blushed any more that night, there would be no blood left in the rest of his body for normal function, but understanding Hearth's comment, he leant forward, back onto Hearth's chest, pulling their bodies flush, Hearth's chin coming to rest gently on top of his head, as they continued to sway to the gentle swing of the waltz.

While he knew these songs were rarely more than 5 or 6 minutes, it felt like he spent an eternity lost in motion, his feet moving of their own accord, as he calmed himself to Hearth's heart beat. When the song changed, Blitz felt pained as they drew apart, just for eye contact, so they could communicate.

_"Do you know this one?_ " Hearth signed, a questioning look on his face.

Blitz shook his head. _"Not a clue, didn't know the last one either, I think it was a Waltz?"_

Hearth chuckled and gestured to the tables at the side of the room. Blitz understood the message immediately and followed him over to the assortment of food.

After 5 minutes of munching on various snack foods, the pair stood once again at the edge of the dance floor, Blitz listening to the beat of the music, Hearth studying those dancing in front of them, both trying to work out if they could dance to the current song. The tempo was much faster than any of the previous songs. Hearth turned to Blitz and signed:

_"Salsa?_ "

Blitz nodded and grimaced.

_"What do you reckon?_ "

_"We could give it a try?"_ Hearth signed back, a smirk tugging at the edge of his lips. He knew as well as Blitz did that they didn't have a hope, but they weren't there for serious dancing, they were there to enjoy themselves, and more importantly, each other.

_"Sure_ " Blitz shook his head and stepped out onto the dance floor with Hearth.

Within 30 seconds, they were both adamant that they didn't have any hope in Hel of accomplishing anything in relation to the current music, or the dance that accompanied it, and instead were continuously tripping over each other's feet and collapsing in fits of giggles, so they waited for the next song to start playing. It started slow, which both were grateful for, and they began a gentle routine round the edge of the floor. But as the seconds went by, and the tempo increased, they repeatedly found themselves in each other's foot space, and continued to be met with the same outcome as before. This happened for the next song. And the next. And the next.

After 15 minutes of tripping, laughing, regaining some composure, and repeating the cycle, Blitz and Hearth eventually stumbled back to the side of the stage, Both red faced, out of breath, and grinning from ear to ear.

_"That_ " Blitzen wheezed, _"Was the most terrible, most terrific time, I have ever had at a dance."_

_"Well I'm honoured to hold that privilege_ " Hearth signed back with shaky hands, propping himself up on a door frame.

The pair relaxed for a moment, leaning into each other without realising.

After Blitz's heart rate had returned to a somewhat normal speed, he turn to Hearth, and idea forming in his head.

_"Hey, I know a desert parlour down the street that'll probably still be open, I fancy ice cream, what do you say?_ "

Hearth's eyes twinkled at the thought, as he held up one hand in the universal sign for ' _ok’,_ with a nod.

They grabbed their coats from the cloakroom, pulled them on, and stepped out into the decidedly now bitter night air.

Without thinking about it, the pair set off down the street, Hearth's arm around Blitzen, who was leaning into the Elf's side for warmth, and neither seemed too bothered by the temperature.

They stopped off at creams, 10 minutes before closing time, buying 2 ice creams, and receiving a very strange look from the cashier as they strode out the doors, deserts in hand.

_"Sooooo_ " Blitz said, pulling Hearth's attention away from his frozen wonder with a mischievous grin.

Hearth raised an eye brow and motioned for Blitzen to continue.

_"I know a certain arcade that stays open late most nights_ " Blitz grinned at the excitement sparking in Hearthstone's eyes.

_"I wish to challenge Magnus' title of 'Pinball Extraordinaire', what say you, defending champion?_ ", finishing the sentence with a curl of his lips.

_"You're going down_ " came the response, signed faster than lightning.

The pair turned and raced through the streets, a route they had leisurely walked many times before, but now it was a competition. Any innocent bystanders may have mistaken them for a couple of young kids, excited with ice creams, on a sugar rush, but Blitz and Hearth couldn't have cared less.

Rounding the final corner, Blitzen was the first to reach the front doors of the arcade, Hearthstone skidding to a halt just behind him.

_"I win, I get first game"_ Blitz smirked, pushing the doors open and leading Hearth inside.

_"Fine by me_ " came Hearth's response, _"Just means I can crush your puny score afterwards_ ".

_"Challenge accepted my friend"._

Blitz reached down, pushing a mortal coin into the pinball machine, rubbing his hands with excitement as it light up, theme song playing, and the first ball dropped.

 

Blitz tried. He tried harder than probably ever before. Games had never really been his thing, but he'd spent countlessHearthgHearth hours in arcades on Hearth's account, simply watching the Elf play. Now, he cast his memory back to every single one of those times, trying to analyse and pick up any last minute tips and tricks he could use to give him any remote chance of beating Hearth tonight, but he knew from the start it was hopeless. He poured his heart and soul into the buttons that controlled the paddles in the box under his fingers, and to his credit, he beat his previous personal best, perhaps spurred on by the way the rest of the night had gone, racking up a respectable 625,980 points. Even Hearth looked genuinely impressed when Blitz finally stepped away from the machine, wiping sweat from his brow.

_"Wow, you actually have been paying attention all these times, well done_ ".

Blitz might have retorted with some comment about sarcasm being the lowest form of wit, but the look of sheer pride in Hearthstone's eyes when he met them shook his foundations, burning what he was pretty sure would be permanent blush into his cheeks.

_"Thanks_ " he mumbled, _"I like watching you play_ ", looking down at his shoes again.

He froze like a statue under Medusa's gaze when he felt Hearth's lips press against the top of his head. By the time he'd regained enough control over his own body to look back up, Hearth had dropped a coin into the machine, and was flexing his fingers in warm up.

_"I know you do, I can still see you out of the corner of my eye_ " he smirked at Blitz's apparent blush, _"Now watch closely"_.

Incapable of a spoken response, Blitz simply nodded and stepped forward to stand by Hearth's side, both pairs of eyes fixed intently on the ball falling towards Hearth's waiting paddles.

As soon as the ball made contact, the pair were lost to the rest of the world, in the whirling lights and extravagant intricacies of the pinball universe. Every now and then, Blitz would glance up and lose his breath to the enchanting look of concentration on Hearth's face, instantly becoming light headed. He would freeze for about 10 seconds, before Hearth registered his lack of movement, glancing up briefly to meet his eyes and snap him back to reality, drawing an intense blush to Blitzen's cheeks as they both turned their attention back to the game.

Blitz felt like he lost decades to that game of pinball, but was shocked when the final ball dropped and he raised his eyes to see a timer of 17 minutes and 24 seconds.

_"Wow..."_ he breathed, still entranced by what he had just witnessed, Hearth stood watching him, his face a picture of smug adoration. He raised on hand to draw Blitzen's attention to the score counter.

994,356.

Blitz's jaw dropped open in utter shock.

_"Jeez Hearth, that's got to beat your old personal best, That's got to be some sort of record or something!_ "

Hearth shrugged, fighting to keep the grin from his lips, a rosy colouring filling his cheeks.

_"Come on"_ he signed, _"Let's get going, they about to shut, and I'm very tired from all the dancing and winning I've done tonight"._

Blitz meant to bump Hearth playfully on the way out for his comment, but instead ended up being pulled back into the Elf's side as they traced the familiar route home, and made no attempt to pull away.

As they stepped in the door and pulled their coats off, Blitz stopped momentarily to listen. He had expected some form of unwanted welcoming party upon their return, but his ears senses returned nothing of the sort that he could detect.

_"Anything?_ " Hearth asked.

Blitz shook his head. _"Not that I can tell. It is 1am, I should hope they're all passed out by now"._

Hearth took his hand as they wandered through the kitchen, and into the living room, towards the stairs. It being dark, Hearth hadn't seen the toys left on the floor by the kids playing that evening, and promptly tripped over a small red fire truck. Blitzen's hand intertwined with his own, that pair fell forwards one after the other, Hearth twisting as they fell, to shield Blitz from whatever they may land on. Luckily, beneath them was a long sofa they'd had delivered the previous week.

Hearth landed along in length ways, Blitz tumbling right after him, landing sprawled across Hearth's torso. Hearth felt the vibrations from Blitz's chest, assuming he was mumbling something about kids not clearing up after themselves, before he raised his head to find himself an inch from Hearth's face. The pair blanched immediately, but neither looked away.

Blitz was taken aback by the sudden close proximity to his favourite Elf, but quickly noticed the nervous, questioning excitement in Hearth's eyes, and watched his favourite starlight grey orbs flick down to his own lips and back up again.

Blitz didn't need asking twice, he'd been waiting for this moment for longer than he cared to admit.

He pushed himself up slightly on his arms, closing the small gap and bringing his lips to meet Hearth's.

The kiss was soft, sweet, emotional, and above all else, relieving. Blitz realised in that moment, that no matter how much he had tried to act like tonight was a normal night, out with his best friend, no matter how much advice his friends had given him, there was still a small knot of nerves in his stomach that couldn't be undone, until they came to this moment. This moment was what made him sure it wasn't all a dream. He'd been out on a date with his best friend. A _proper date._ They both knew it was a date, they had both enjoyed it, this was everything he'd dreamed of, everything he'd been wanting for months, years even, if he was honest with himself. The soft warmth of Hearth's lips sent a tidal wave of calm through Blitzen, a state of bliss even Ragnarok could not deter. Weightlessness and gravity fought for dominance over Blitz's physical form, while his emotional and mental states were let loose in a kaleidoscopic explosion comparable to that of the Big Bang that started this universe, and all the others.

When the pair broke apart, for no other reason than to breathe, Blitz took a moment to find his vocal chords again, before softly suggesting:

_"I'm quite happy to sleep here tonight, if that's alright with you?"_ , hoping Hearth would get his message in the dim half-light.

In response, he felt Hearth's arms wrap around him, holding him close, as he laid his head to rest on his favourite Elf's chest, closing his eyes, allowing the soft twilight realm of sleep to overcome his consciousness.

 

*****************************************************

 

Epilogue:

Blitz was woken the next morning by a small yelp somewhere above his head, followed closely after by the **_*Click*_** of a camera lens.

He cracked one eye open to see Mallory standing over him, phone in hand, staring excitedly down at the picture she had evidently just taken of him and Hearth asleep on the sofa.

_"Urghhhhh_ " was all Blitz managed, as he felt Hearth stir beneath him.

Still in a semi-asleep state, he freed one of his arms and located a pillow he and Hearth weren't currently using, and manoeuvred it until he could throw it at Mallory.

Unfortunately, the red head saw it coming, ducking the projectile and running out of the room cackling like a crazed witch.

Blitz felt the soft pull of a blanket wrapped around him, which he figured Hearth must have pulled over them during the night.

Thanking the Elf in his head, because he still didn't think his vocal chords had woken up yet, and he hoped Hearth was still mostly asleep, he tugged on the blanket and pulled it up over both of their head, before feeling Hearth's arms adjust slightly around him, while he laid his head back down above Hearth's heart beat and allow the gentle rhythm to rock him back to sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first Blitzstone I've written, I hope you enjoyed it and they're not too OOC, let me know what you think!
> 
> Credit:  
> This idea was discussed on a discord I'm part of, I just piped up and said I'd write it up.
> 
> YouGottaBeBlitzenMyHearthstone (on AO3) <\- huge part of the concept of the story and also provided me with the lovely "Starlight Grey" description for Hearth's eyes, she has a multitude of Blitzstone works so head on over and check them out!
> 
> P.s. Bonus points to anyone who can spot all of the characters from other series/TV shows that cameo in this


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